• before 7

Parameters for Fruits, Animal Sorting

 

Context:  Private classes of English;  a group of 6 children aged 5-6,  children attend the lessons once a week for 1h

 

1. Lesson / task description - before

TA aims :

1. To let the ss name parameters (or at least features) for fruits
2. To let the ss practice sorting of animals, adding new parameters (food and drink, animal covering)

In terms of subject matter:

1. To repeat food vocabulary, to introduce the parameter of taste (sweet) .

2. To repeat (teach) animals, to introduce new food items for animals, to introduce animal covering vocabulary (fur, feathers, skin, scales, shell)

 

Materials I am going to use:

1. Prepared sets of mixed vegetables and fruits.
2. Worksheets with animal coverings, animal food

 

Tasks I am going to use:

1. To form pairs according to colour of clothes. Each pair is given a set of vegetables and fruits. SS should separate fruits from vegetables and say, why they think the chosen items are fruits.
2. Each student is given 5 or 6 animals (plastic figures). They had to divide them into two groups. And regroup them 2 or three times, each time telling me, why they divided the animals like this.

 

2. Lesson / task description

 

Procedures: First I told children that we are going to form pairs and we will have different tasks. Each task they should work with a new person. I suggested them to form pairs according to the same parameter – colour). Then I gave each pair a set of vegetables and fruits. I told them that our Birdie is sick. Yesterday he became allergic to fruits and now he cannot eat them. I asked the children to feed the Birdie. Thus they put away all the fruits. Then I asked them, why do they think they are fruits? One girl came up with taste – she said: “They are sweet!” I accepted the answer. Then I had to help – I asked them to think where they are growing. Children told me – on the trees. So the second parameter (place of growth was found). Then I suggested to draw their attention to the structure of the fruits (meaning to name a peel). It was difficult for them. So I had to help, telling what covers the fruits? They guessed the peel and I asked them, whether the fruits they are easily peeled or not? They agreed, that the fruits are easily peeled and that was our third parameter.

I asked the SS to reflect on the experience. They told me, that as the Birdie was allergic to fruits, they fed him with vegetable soup or a salad. And they guessed that the food  item was fruit, because of its sweet taste, fruits grow on trees and easily peeled.

 

Then we went to the ZOO. We named several animals and I gave 5-6 animals to  a pair of students and to a girl, asking them to divide them into 2 groups. I didn’t put the task into the context, because they easily agreed to the task and started fulfilling it. After all the evident features were named (long tales – short tales, smaller size - bigger size, spots – without spots,  blue – green animals…) I asked SS to look at them differently, not only at how do they look like. One 5-year old boy wanted to divide the animals according to what they ate. He knew that tiger ate meat, but lacked knowledge of what ate the other animals. That  was high time for me to give them my prepared worksheets of animal food and after that to introduce a new parameter – animal coverings. We did the matching and sorting activities in the class and I asked to make more sorting at home.

 

 

3. Overall reflection on the lesson / task

Aim aspect: I was happy when one girl told me that they fruits were sweet.” How smart the children are!” I had to help with the two other parameters, but with a little hint they guessed about the place of growth. Notion of the peel was new to them. What concerns context, I was touched seeing how concerned and helpful children were, when I told that Birdie was allergic to fruits and hungry, Enthusiastically they started to prepare food for him.

 

What concerns animal sorting, first the SS named all the features they knew and then I had a chance to teach them something new – food and covering features.